The Ministry of Finance is led by Minister of Finance Riikka Purra. Her responsibilities at the Ministry include economic policy, economic prospects and taxation as well as matters related to the strategic steering and supervision of central government borrowing, debt servicing and the investment of cash funds.

Purra graduated with a Master of Social Sciences from the University of Turku in 2004. She studied political science, economics, environmental policy and, later, educational science. Purra worked at the university, for example, as a graduate student and teacher.

Purra was elected to Parliament for the first time in 2019. During her first parliamentary term, Purra chaired the Administration Committee. Purra was elected as a deputy leader of the Finns Party in 2019 and as leader in 2021

Russ Taylor worked as a forester in the 1970s (5 years at Northwood, Houston, BC) and in lumber sales, marketing and custom cutting in the 1980s (7 years at Interfor) before starting his consulting career in 1988 and forming International WOOD MARKETS Group in 1992.

Russ has conducted wood products market analysis and business assessment analysis on timber and wood products for global industry clients and has published 45 strategic outlook reports. He travels extensively to key producing, exporting and importing countries in China, Asia, Russia, Europe, the Southern Hemisphere and within North America to obtain first -hand insights.

Following the sale of WOOD MARKETS, Russ started up the next phase of his career in 2020 with RUSS TAYLOR GLOBAL – Wood Business & Market Consulting.

Mr. Taylor has a forestry degree (BScF) and an MBA, both from the University of B.C., and is also a B.C. registered professional forester (RPF-Ret).

Mika Hentunen is the Russia Correspondent for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. Russia is the seventh country where he has lived and worked as a journalist. Prior to Moscow, he was based in Beijing and Washington D.C. His 30 years of on-site reporting for television, radio and online span from the fall of the iron curtain to 9/11, and from the war-torn Sarajevo to contested US elections, China and Russia.

In addition to daily news reporting, Mika has in recent years focused on changes in geopolitical and economical landscapes, especially in Global East and Global South countries.

Besides journalism, he is a published author of four non-fiction books and two novels. His latest book The Next Superpower: China’s Grand Plan to Reorder the World, (“Kiinan maailma”, Tammi 2025), co-authored with Kristiina Helenius, analyzes China’s rise and pursuit for global leadership and the rivalry with the West.